Mom charged in death of girl, 3, left in hot car. ‘Punishment cannot fit tragedy,’ DA says
Multiple charges including manslaughter and child abuse have been filed against a woman accused of leaving her 3-year-old in a car, leading to the child’s death amid triple-digital heat, according to the Tulare District Attorney’s Office.
Eustajia Dominguez Mojica, 28, is facing 12 charges that include child abuse, a special allegation of willful harm or injury resulting in death, involuntary manslaughter, conspiracy, two misdemeanor counts of child endangerment, misdemeanor possession of marijuana for sale, and misdemeanor planting, harvesting or processing of marijuana, District Attorney Tim Ward announced Monday.
“While we can all agree that the ultimate punishment cannot fit the tragedy that occurred here, California law draws a clear distinction between negligent acts and malice with regard to a possible charge of murder,” Ward stated in a news release. “The case will continue to be investigated and I strongly urge anyone with more information to contact the Visalia Police Department.”
Police were first alerted by a call about a child — later identified as Jessica Campos — who was not breathing after being left in a parked vehicle Thursday in the 100 block of Perez Avenue in Visalia. An officer on an unrelated call was nearby, went to the scene and took over CPR from family members.
Campos was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Mojica was to be arraigned Monday afternoon. If convicted, prosecutors said, she faces 10 years in state prison.
Other adults also charged
Araceli Dominguez, 33, Emmanuel Ortiz-Aguilar, 34, Valentin Aguilar Ortiz, 27, and Victor Corona Flores, 41, also were charged with varying crimes related to child endangerment and drug crimes stemming from the same incident, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Mojica is suspected of tending to a marijuana growing operation and processing marijuana during the time the child was left inside the vehicle, investigators said last week. The four other adults charged also were inside the home, police said.
This story was originally published June 7, 2021 at 6:36 PM.